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Sunday, January 04, 2009

Making a low-carb breakfast casserole on the weekend helps me eat a good breakfast all week!

(Updated October 2014) Years ago I posted these Basic Instructions and Variations for Low-Carb Breakfast Casseroles. I've made this type of egg-based breakfast casserole lots of different ways, so this post has recommendations
for various-sized pans, and a few tips I've found are helpful. Since then I've shared so many breakfast casserole variations I thought it would be fun to update the post with photos and recipe links for some of my favorites. (You can look in Eggs and Breakfast Dishes for more low-carb breakfast ideas; hope you enjoy!)

Breakfast Casserole Basics:
~I think the only "must have" in this type of breakfast casserole is eggs. Pretty much everything else can be varied to taste or depending on what you have on hand.
~I used to always add milk or half and half to the eggs; now I rarely bother with it.
~I like to use cottage cheese stirred into the eggs for a little extra creaminess. It's phase one approved if you use low-fat cottage cheese.
~In my mind, most any combination of breakfast casserole ingredients is improved with green onions.
~When I use mushrooms, or other veggie ingredients like pepper, broccoli, asparagus, or zucchini, I always saute or boil them for a few minutes before putting them in the casserole dish.
~I always put the meat and/or veggie ingredients into the casserole dish first, then pour the eggs over. Then I stir gently with a fork to get the other ingredients well distributed in the egg.
~Even though I like my scrambled eggs on the runny side, I always cook the breakfast casseroles until the eggs are slightly browned on top.
~I'm not sure I've ever made a breakfast casserole without using Spike Seasoning, but if you don't have Spike, probably any combination of spices that you like in eggs will be good in this.
~Using non-stick spray or olive oil on your pan before adding the casserole ingredients is pretty important or the pan will be hard to get clean.
~Breakfast casseroles of all types will keep at least a week in the fridge. Many of my earliest recipes say breakfast casseroles can be frozen, but now I rarely freeze them. If you do, be prepared that they will release some liquid when they're heated after being frozen (use a paper towel underneath to absorb the liquid.)
~To reheat breakfast casserole, microwave 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to cook too long.
~I think nearly every type of breakfast casserole is good with low-fat sour cream and salsa on top.

Preheat oven to 375. Spray glass or non-stick metal casserole dish with nonstick spray or olive oil. Dice meat and grate cheese. Saute any veggies you're using in a small amount of olive oil for 3-5 minutes (depending on what type of vegetable.) Harder vegetables like broccoli should be briefly boiled and drained well.

In bottom of casserole dish layer meat, veggies, green onions and cheese. Mix eggs with Spike Seasoning, salt, and pepper until whites and yolks are well combined. (Edit: eggs should be well combined, but not beaten together like whipping egg whites, just mixed with a fork. Add cottage cheese to egg mixture if using.) Pour eggs over meat/cheese mixture, then stir gently with a fork so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed in the eggs.

Bake until eggs are firmly set and top is lightly browned:
~35-45 minutes for 10X14 size pan
~30-35 minutes for 9X13 size pan
~20-25 minutes for 7X11 or 8X8 size pan

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On my second week of Phase 1, mainly because I started reading this "food" blog a while ago :-) and figured what the heck, maybe this South Beach thing will work. I've lost about 8 pounds, my boyfriend has lost around 10. I can't tell you how much your blog has helped, with yummy recipes, fun reading and cool products (I started using Dreamfields pasta last year even before the diet because of reading your blog). We've been eating your version of the breakfast muffins (thanks for the two wrapper suggestion) from day one.THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Hi Kalyn--Just wanted to thank you for this idea. I need more protein in the morning. I didn't follow your recipe exactly since I didn't have everything on hand, but the idea of baking up an egg and cheese dish, well that came from you! And it was easy and tasty. So thanks!

What a great post! Really liked the fact that you reworked the recipe for different pan sizes. I have been doing SB for over a year now and lost 33pounds. I have enjoyed your blog and lots of your recipes. I cook only for myself and look for recipes that will freeze well and still taste good when reheated. Will have to give the breakfast casserole a try soon.

I've been making a similar but lighter version of this once or twice a week for several months now. I take a quiche/tart dish and fill it nearly to the top with chopped tomatoes, onions, broccoli, and spinach. Sometimes I saute the veggies first but usually I leave them as is.

Then I fill in the remaining space with about 18 egg whites mixed with 2 whole eggs and a little salt and pepper. I bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes and it comes out beautifully! Since it is nearly all egg whites and veggies, it is very light but quite filling! We like to bring slices to work and eat it with hot sauce.

One of the things that keeps me from completely doing the South Beach diet is that I cannot eat eggs that are cooked as eggs. I can eat eggs in bread or such, but not quiche, casseroles, or egg custard. There is a chemical change that must occur for me to be able to eat eggs. Additionally, I do not eat much meat. I have not found a lot of balanced meal options for South Beach that can accomodate these restrictions. As an experience South Beach Eater, can you make any suggetions?

Erin-Joi, I have recipe archives sections for Vegetarian Dishes, Vegetables, Salads, and Rice-Grains-Beans-Legumes. I'm guessing you could find dishes that you might like in any of those sections. I hesitate to make specific recommendations because there's no way for me to know what flavors would appeal to you.

I have seen where the South Beach founder recommends that people just start on phase two if they don't like egg dishes. That might work for you too.

I'm a notorious breakfast skipper as I'm not really hungry until 10AM and by that time I'm fully engaged at work. So I'm thinking I'll make this, cut it into breakfast-sized squares and take them to work to heat up mid-morning. Then I won't be tempted to pop into the school kitchen to see what local, organic, delicious but carb-laden item is on the menu. :) Thanks for the update Kalyn.

I'm going to try posting my question here even though it is an older post.Has anyone ever had an issue with baked eggs becoming "spongy"? I baked some eggs with a bit of cooked spinach and mushrooms in a muffin tin for 25 mins and they puffed way up but the texture wasn't the most appetizing. Maybe I overcooked them? Or didn't add enough "mix-ins"? Any ideas for avoiding this in the future?

Nicole, my guess would be overbeating the eggs when you stir together the white and the yolks, especially if they puffed up a lot. It's making me wonder if I should edit my instructions and not use the word "beat" because I don't beat the eggs in the way you would for eggwhites, just mix them together with a fork. More vegetables added in might also be helpful. Thanks for the comment. I'm always working to make sure recipes will turn out for people the way I want them to, and I do think I will edit the instructions a little.

This recipe is a winner! I made it TWICE this week for Christmas get togethers, and it was devoured each time. I made it with low fat cheddar, red peppers, mushrooms and Canadian bacon. Thank you for developing this recipe!

Thank you so much Kalyn for your blog! I just made a breakfast casserole with leftover veggies from my farm share and now have a healthy breakfast for the whole week (and an extra 20min to sleep in each morning :-)

Hi, I just put my husband on the South Beach and he is not loosing much, but he is loosing weight and it's a good start. My kids and me try to eat around his foods, so after phase one it is easier now. I found your blog and love it for the new ideas.one question: can I sub eggbeaters for some of the eggs? because of the high cholesterol concern, some might have.Thanks Claudia

Swimchick, I've had lots of people tell me they have used part or all Eggbeaters in the breakfast casseroles and they worked great. Good luck to your husband. There is an index of only phase one recipes on the top left that might help you.

Hi Kalyn, I just made this using light havarti, pencil asparagus, red bell pepper, and crimini mushrooms. It was great! However, I was wondering what the purpose of the cottage cheese is? I added it but I'm not really sure what it brings...it's just flecked with some melted white spots.

Oh, and here's a tip: if you spray the baking dish with Baker's Joy, it ends up being totally nonstick!

That's funny because I just made a version with tomato, asparagus, havarti, and dill that I'll be posting soon. The cottage cheese is a way to add more creaminess with less fat than using more cheese, but it's purely optional, sometimes I add it and sometimes I don't.

Just a note to let you know I made the breakfast casserole with ground turkey seasoned like I would taco meat and added mild green chilies. Added frozen vegetables that had an assortment of beans took it to work and it was a success. The men in the office (usually pretty picky about diet food) loved it. I was requested to make it again. Thanks

Carmela, I've never done that. I think it would work, but the cooking time would be longer with all the ingredients being cold. You could also bake it the night before, refrigerate, and reheat in the oven the next day.

I'm fairly newish to South Beach and I don't know how anyone does this without your marvelous blog. Everything I've tried is so amazingly complex (flavours, not work!) and wonderful.

I particularly like the breakfast casseroles and appreciate the basic version with all the variations. I tend to use broccoli, kale, yellow pepper, ham, feta and cheddar (all low fat of course). And thank you for introducing me to Spike. I'd never heard of it and it is now my favourite spice.

Made the caserole today, mushrooms, spinach and ham, just waiting for it to cool. It is going to be delicious as all your recipes are! I have referred co-workers to your blog, my absolute favorite site!

New to the South Beach diet, on day 3. I am finding the default South Beach recipes (on SB website) a little boring. I have eaten yogurt and boiled eggs for breakfast 3 days in a row now and I'm tired of it. I'm so glad to see many recipes out there for Phase 1 people. The problem I find though is how much to eat when I use someone else's recipe. The southbeach website tells me what to eat and how much. When I follow another recipe I'm not sure how much of "xxx" I should eat. Example, I eat a cup of yogurt (plain, cinnamon, vanilla extract), 2 hard boiled eggs, and vegetable juice. If I were to eat a slice of casserole, do I just drink juice with it, or do I need to eat a cup of yogurt as well? Confused...

This sounds and looks wonderful! I want to thank you for including instructions/measurements for smaller versions! My daughter and I are vacationing at a mountain condo next week and I want to make several make-ahead dishes just for the two of us. This is perfect and fits right in with my clean eating lifestyle!

I love the variety of veggies and meats I can use to keep me from getting bored with it. I use old bay for seasoning. Do you think ricotta would be good in this? I'm looking for another way to add creaminess without adding liquid.

Jennifer, I've used all types of creamy cheese but never ricotta, and I'm not sure how it would work. I wonder if it will melt, or just get runny when it's cooked into the eggs. If you try it, would love to know how it works.

I made the casserole with part skim ricotta this morning. Very yummy! It added creaminess to the eggs and didn't affect the moisture content. I made an 8x8 size and put about 1/4 cup in the bowl with my eggs, then whisked it all together. I squeezed it with paper towels to remove some of the moisture. I will definitely add that to your recipe from now on. Thanks for all of the awesome ideas!

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

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